Alberic of Cîteaux (died 26 January 1109), sometimes known as Aubrey of Cîteaux, was a French

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

and

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

, one of the founders of the

Cistercian Order The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

. He is now honored as a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

Life

Alberic was a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

in the forest of Collan in France who, along with five other

s, invited

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Robert of Molesme to begin a new

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

with them that would operate under the

Rule of St. Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by Benedict of Nursia, St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up ...

. Robert led these hermits to the forest of Molesme and in 1075 established a religious settlement, the monastery Molesme Abbey. Robert served as the first abbot, and Alberic as the

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

. However, as the settlement's fame grew, gifts came in and the wealth attracted new monks more lax in their observance of the rule. The Molesme community was divided, and the monks opposed Robert and Alberic. Robert twice left the monastery to live as a hermit, and twice the

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

ordered him back to his community. During one of Robert's absences, the brothers imprisoned Alberic so that they might have their way. The stricter group left Molesme for Cîteaux. Initially, Robert was Abbot of Cîteaux with Alberic serving as prior. Gildas, Marie. "Cistercians." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 21 January 2020 However, the monks of Molesme petitioned

Pope Urban II Pope Urban II (; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening the Council of Clermon ...

that Robert return to them and vowed obedience to the Rule of St. Benedict. In 1100, Robert left for Molesme and Alberic became the new abbot at Citeaux. Alberic is credited with attaining the Cistercian Order's legal foundation.

Pope Paschal II Pope Paschal II (; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Raniero Raineri di Bleda, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was creat ...

granted this legitimacy with his Bull '' Desiderium quod'' (around 1100). Albéric also decided to move the monastery's buildings a kilometer to the north and initiated construction on the first abbey church. The Church was consecrated less than six years later. Alberic also introduced the use of the white Cistercian

cowl A cowl is an item of clothing consisting of a long, hooded garment with wide sleeves, often worn by monks. It was developed during the Early Middle Ages. The term may have originally referred to the hooded portion of a cloak, though contempor ...

. It was given to him for the monks, according to legend, by the Virgin Mary as they were at choir praying vigils. Accordingly, the white cowl is one of Alberic's attributes in hagiographical paintings. Alberic and his religious at Cîteaux established the exact observance of the Rule of St. Benedict. In order to better observe the rule in regard to the Divine Office day and night, the monks associated with themselves lay brothers, to be chiefly occupied with the manual labor and material affairs of the order. Alberic's

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

, together with that of Robert of Molesme and Stephen Harding, is celebrated on 26 January."Solemnity of the Founders of Citeaux", New Melleray Abbey
/ref>

References

Sources

*Attwater, Donald and John, Catherine Rachel John, 1993:''The Penguin Dictionary of Saints''. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books

External links

Saint of the Day, January 26: ''Alberic of Cîteaux''
at ''SaintPatrickDC.org'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Alberic French Cistercians Cistercian abbots general 11th-century births 1109 deaths Founders of Catholic religious communities 11th-century Christian saints 12th-century Christian saints Medieval French saints Cistercian saints